Lemon Poppy Seed Cream Cheese Crumb Muffins

If you love lemon, you’ll really love today’s lemon crumb muffins. My recipe for lemon cream cheese muffins makes the softest, lightest, fluffiest lemon muffins I’ve ever tasted. And to make them even better, heaps of crumb topping adds a wonderful crunchy, buttery, crumbliness to every bite that is just so delicious.

To really enhance the lemon flavor, I drizzled the warm muffins with a little tart lemon icing.  The icing not only adds more lemon flavor, but also helps keep any stray crumble pieces in place atop the muffins.  They’re the most lemony of lemon muffins, and the only lemon muffin recipe I need anymore.

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The name of these muffins might imply that there’s a dollop of cream cheese in the center of each. But I actually use the cream cheese in place of butter or oil, beating it together with the sugar before mixing up the batter. The addition of the cream cheese makes such a light and fluffy muffin with the most delicious flavor.

Toss in some poppy seeds, and you have a lemon poppy seed muffin piled with buttery crumble topping. What could be better for a weekend breakfast?

Ingredients

Crumb Topping

• All-Purpose Flour. Forms a crumbly dough, when mixed with the butter.
• Granulated Sugar. Sweetens the topping.
• Coarse Kosher Salt. Balances the sweetness.
• Unsalted Butter. Moistens the topping and binds it all together. I prefer to use melted butter (rather than cutting in cold butter) for my crumb toppings, as it distributes more evenly and makes a better crumble.

Lemon Muffins

• Cream Cheese. The cream cheese, rather than butter or oil, adds fat and richness to these lemon crumb muffins, as well as makes them very soft and tender.
• Granulated Sugar. Adds sweetness and moisture.
• Lemons. Both fresh lemon zest and lemon juice adds flavor, moisture and acidity to the muffins.
• Eggs. Add richness, fat and structure.
• Whole Milk. Moistens the muffin batter.
• All-Purpose Flour. Adds structure.
• Baking Powder + Baking Soda. Leavens the batter to make the muffins rise.
• Coarse Kosher Salt. Balances the sweetness and enhances the flavors.
• Poppy Seeds. The poppy seeds are optional, but they add a bit of nuttiness, and the black specks look so pretty.

Lemon Icing

• Powdered Sugar. Sweetens and thickens the icing.
• Lemon Juice + Zest. Adds tartness and flavor to balance the sugar, and thins the icing to a drizzling consistency.

Instructions

Topping

• In a bowl, combine 3/4 cup of the flour with the sugar and salt. Drizzle with the melted butter, and stir together into a moist, crumbly dough.  Add the remaining 1/4 cup flour and stir until moistened and crumbly.
• Set aside until needed.

Muffins

• Preheat the oven to 350.  Line a standard muffin pan with paper liners. I find it helpful to lightly spray the paper liners with non-stick baking spray so that the muffins don’t stick.
• In a bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese, sugar and lemon zest for two minutes until smooth.  Scrape down the bowl and beat in the eggs until smooth.
• Switch to a whisk, and whisk in the milk and lemon juice.
• In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and poppy seeds.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet and use a whisk to quickly whisk the batter together just until there are no visible streaks of flour.  Batter should be thick and pillowy.
• Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups – they will be fairly full.
• Now pile the crumb topping on top of the batter. It will seem like you have too many crumbs, but after baking, it will be just right, so use up all the crumbs and lightly press them into the batter.
• Bake the muffins on the center oven rack for 18-21 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool the muffins in the pan for about 5 minutes, then carefully remove and set on a wire rack to cool. Scoop up any crumbs that fall off and save them in a little bowl.

Lemon Drizzle

• Whisk together the powdered sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice until smooth.
• Drizzle half the icing over the hot muffins, then sprinkle with the crumb topping that fell off. Drizzle with the rest of the icing. The icing will help to secure the crumbs and keep them in place.
• Let the muffins cool for 10-15 minutes, and serve warm.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many fresh lemons do I need for this recipe?

• I used 2 large lemons and had plenty of lemon juice for both the muffins and the icing. If you’re using small lemons, plan on needing 4 lemons.

Can I make these muffins with oranges instead of lemons?

• Although orange juice is less acidic than lemon juice, you can substitute orange juice for the lemon juice in both the muffin batter and the icing. Use the orange zest more sparingly, though, just a teaspoon or so. Too much orange zest can make baked goods bitter. And add a teaspoon of orange extract for more orange flavor.

Can I add blueberries to make lemon blueberry muffins?

• Yes, lemon blueberry muffins are delicious! I’d recommend fresh blueberries, not frozen, as frozen and thawed blueberries tend to add too much moisture and turn the batter an unappealing gray-green color.
• Follow the recipe as instructed, and fold in 1 – 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries after you mix the dry ingredients into the batter. Of course, you’ll have more batter than you can use for 12 muffins, and will need to make a few extra muffins.

Do I have to use cream cheese?

• The cream cheese takes the place of butter or oil in the batter, adding fat, richness and tenderness to the crumb. In testing many lemon muffin recipes over the years, I found that lemon muffins often have a rubbery texture, especially as they cool. But with the addition of the cream cheese, the texture is absolutely, perfectly soft, moist and tender.
• If you prefer not to use cream cheese, use the same amount of softened butter instead.

If I like less crumb topping, can I just make half the topping recipe?

• Of course you can just make half the topping, if you prefer. This recipe does make a generous amount of crumbs, but that’s how I like it. As the muffins bake, the tops spread a bit, and if you’re skimpy on the crumb topping, you’ll have gaps.
• I pile all the crumbs onto the batter before baking. If any crumbs fall off when I take the muffins out of the pan, I gather them all up and sprinkle them back on when I add the lemon drizzle. The drizzle helps them all stay in place so you can enjoy every last crumble on your lemon crumb muffins!

How long do lemon muffins stay fresh?

• Stored in an airtight container, these muffins stay soft for days just at room temperature, but can also be frozen for later, and are nearly as good as they were when freshly baked. I even had one last muffin that we forgot about, sitting in a container for a full week. I considered throwing it out, but after re-warming it, it tasted as soft and fresh and delicious as it had the day I baked them.

How do you reheat leftover muffins?

• You can split the muffins and toast them for a few minutes in a convection oven.
• Warm them at 50% power in the microwave for 40-60 seconds.

What should I serve with lemon muffins?

• Lemon muffins are best served warm, and I love them with a little softened butter. They’re great plain, too!
• A spoonful of lemon curd would add even more bright lemon flavor.
• Or serve them with your favorite jam – strawberry, raspberry or blueberry would all be delicious!

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